Starbucks baristas launch strike in US, union says
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More than 11,000 Starbucks baristas in the United States have begun a five-day strike, demanding better pay and working conditions. The strike, which began on Friday, has seen walkouts at stores in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Seattle. According to Starbucks Workers United, the strike action will expand daily and could reach hundreds of stores by Christmas Eve unless an agreement is reached.
The union has been pressing Starbucks for increased wages, more staff, and better scheduling for its workers. In response to the strike announcement, a Starbucks spokesperson stated, “We are ready to continue negotiations to reach agreements. We need the union to return to the table.” This strike marks the largest action by Workers United since the union began negotiations with Starbucks more than two years ago.
The union movement at Starbucks gained significant momentum in 2021 when the first U.S. store voted to unionize. Since then, the number of unionized stores has grown rapidly, with Workers United now representing over 500 Starbucks locations across 45 U.S. states.
Fatemeh Alhadjaboodi, a Starbucks barista from Texas, said in a statement sent to the BBC, “It’s a last resort, but Starbucks has broken its promise to thousands of baristas and left us with no choice.” Workers United has particularly highlighted what it sees as a significant pay disparity between Starbucks executives and its workers. For example, the company’s CEO, Brian Niccol, receives an annual base salary of $1.6 million, which could be supplemented with a performance-related bonus of up to $7.2 million, in addition to potential stock options worth as much as $23 million per year.
Starbucks has defended its compensation plan, asserting that Niccol is “one of the most effective leaders in our industry” and that his pay is directly tied to the company’s performance and the success of all stakeholders. The company has also pointed to its offer of an average hourly wage of more than $18, as well as “best-in-class benefits,” which together total an average of $30 per hour for baristas working at least 20 hours a week.
However, despite these offers, the strike comes at a difficult time for Starbucks, which has faced declining sales and customer backlash due to rising prices and boycotts sparked by the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict. In August, the company replaced its CEO Laxman Narasimhan with Brian Niccol, who was brought in to lead a company turnaround. Under Narasimhan’s leadership, Starbucks had softened its previously combative stance toward unions and pledged earlier this year to work toward a deal with Workers United.
The strike is also taking place amid broader labor unrest in the U.S. The Teamsters union, one of the country’s most powerful labor organizations, is currently staging a protest against Amazon. On Thursday, Amazon delivery drivers at seven U.S. facilities walked off the job after the company refused to negotiate with the union over a new labor contract. This strike comes as the holiday season approaches and companies like Amazon rush to meet the demand for packages in the final weeks leading up to Christmas.
While the Starbucks strike is centered on pay and working conditions, it is also a part of a larger trend of labor activism in the U.S., with unions pushing for better treatment in industries where workers have long felt underpaid and overworked. The strike against Starbucks, like the protest at Amazon, reflects a growing movement among workers demanding a fairer share of corporate profits and improved workplace conditions.
As the strike continues, all eyes will be on the negotiations between Starbucks and Workers United. If an agreement is not reached soon, the action could escalate, putting further pressure on the company during one of the busiest retail periods of the year. For many baristas, the strike is a last-ditch effort to force change at the company, which they argue has failed to meet the needs of its workers despite record profits. The outcome of the strike could set a significant precedent for other unionization efforts across the country.
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